Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on the Maternity Allowance – 18 July 1986

Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Maternity Allowance on 18th July 1986.

Mr. Clay Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the gross and net cost of increasing the single person’s rate of maternity allowance by £7.35.

Mr. Major The cost of increasing the basic rate of maternity allowance by £7.35 per week would be about £47 million in a full year, with a saving of about £2 million on supplementary benefit expenditure. If the increase was confined to single women only, the cost would be about £6 million.